https://forum.treeleaf.org/ en Sun, 26 Apr 2026 14:05:18 GMT vBulletin 60 https://forum.treeleaf.org/images/og/treeleaf-circle-og-logo.png https://forum.treeleaf.org/ https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/practices/celebrate-buddhist-holidays-with-your-family/568069-a-chance-to-celebrate-with-your-family-hanamatsuri-vesak-2026-buddha-s-birthday Tue, 31 Mar 2026 01:08:45 GMT https://www.treeleaf.org/2025/12/bud...-family/#vesak. What a great opportunity to introduce a bit of Buddhist lore and traditions to your family, especially to young children! It is the Buddhist Spring holiday! We have put together some small activities for this time, easy to do at home, such as a simple "bathing the Baby Buddha" ceremony, maybe a little fun "birthday party for the Buddha," some enjoyable activities for kids like making lanterns, taking walks in nature, and more! Please have a look, especially if kids at home.

You and your family are also invited to our Spring Retreat on April 4th, which commemorates Hanamatsuri. If you can't make the retreat live, it will be available to sit with in recorded form afterwards.


.
A bit about Hanamatsuri from our teacher, Jundo:

April 8th is traditionally celebrated as Buddha's Birthday in Japan, where the day is known as Hana Matsuri (花祭り), or the "Flower Festival"!
The event is marked on a different day from most of the rest of Asian Buddhism, where the date varies year by year according to the lunar calendar, usually late April or in May in most other countries. However, having two or more birthdays is no problem for a Buddha! Truly, his/her/their birthday is your birthday, and all is born every moment.... In Japan, at many temples, a small stature of the Baby Buddha is placed, and adults and children bathe the child in sweet tea.

Vesak is also a celebration of the Buddha's birthday, although it is part of Theravadan and Tibetan traditions. This year it will be observed on the first of May. Some of the same practices, such as bathing the baby Buddha are shared with Hanamatsuri, while lantern parades are particular to Vesak. If you're curious about our Buddhist cousins, Plum Village has a nice essay with photos here.

I'm looking forward to listening to your accounts of the Buddha's Birthday celebrated in your own family!

Gassho,
Shujin]]> Celebrate Buddhist Holidays With Your Family! Shujin https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/practices/celebrate-buddhist-holidays-with-your-family/568069-a-chance-to-celebrate-with-your-family-hanamatsuri-vesak-2026-buddha-s-birthday https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/practices/celebrate-buddhist-holidays-with-your-family/567948-buddhist-family-holidays-revised-edition Sat, 28 Mar 2026 02:55:56 GMT
I'm pleased to announce the revised edition of our Buddhist Family Holidays project is here: https://www.treeleaf.org/2025/12/bud...in-the-family/ I've summarized our goals in a short video, but if reading is more to your liking there's a paragraph below. I look forward to reading and listening to your experiences!



Welcome to our Buddhist Family Holidays project! Most of our sangha live in parts of the world that are primarily non-Buddhist. This presents a challenge, but also an opportunity, to celebrate our practice amidst other religious and cultural traditions. We have three goals with this project:

• To learn and observe Soto Zen Buddhist holidays for ourselves
• To learn and observe comparable holidays in other traditions, when possible, with those who are dear to us
• To offer our customs and traditions to our children in a more accessible format

Holidays are a chance to slow the pace of our lives, reflect, and practice gratitude for all things. They can also be stressful, however, especially if our beliefs conflict with those of those around us. Yet at heart, all holidays of peace, goodwill, family and gathering share many of the same values. We can honor and join our loved ones’ customs, and find a shared spirit with our own. In my own life, this has been a process of learning that the symbols we use in different traditions are not as vital as I thought. At times, we can keep our ways in our own hearts, being gentle and patient with others, even when those people may be less patient with our ways. At other times, we can celebrate all ways together!

Gassho,
Shujin]]> Celebrate Buddhist Holidays With Your Family! Shujin https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/practices/celebrate-buddhist-holidays-with-your-family/567948-buddhist-family-holidays-revised-edition